We are interested in the development of surfactants derived from
hemicellulosic biomass, as they are potential components in pharmaceuticals,
personal care products and other detergents. Such surfactants should exhibit low
toxicity in mammalian cells. In this study we synthesized a series of alkyl or
fluoroalkyl β-xylopyranosides from azides and an alkyne using the
copper-catalyzed azide-alkyne (CuAAC) “Click” reaction in 4 steps
from xylose. The purified products were evaluated for both their surfactant
properties, and for their biocompatibility. Unlike other carbohydrate-based
surfactants, liquid-crystalline behavior was not observed by differential
scanning calorimetry. The triazole-containing β-xylopyranosides with
short (6 carbons) and long (>12 carbons) chains exhibited no toxicity at
concentrations ranging from 1 to 1000 μM. Triazole-containing
β-xylopyranosides with 8, 10 or 12 carbons caused toxicity
via apoptosis, with CC50 values ranging from
26-890 μM. The two longest chain compounds did form stable monolayers at
the air-water interface over a range of temperatures, although a brief
transition to an unstable monolayer was observed.